


When the Rains Come

by Revasnaslan



Series: Perfect Disaster AU [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Bodyguard Kolivan, Fluff, M/M, Prince Zarkon, Rain, feat. bby thace and antok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-13 20:46:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16479464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revasnaslan/pseuds/Revasnaslan
Summary: Rain has come to the Imperial Palace and Zarkon does not like it. Kolivan does, though.





	When the Rains Come

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic for the Galraween Exchange :) not especially halloweeny, but my recepient wanted something having to do with weather and seasonal changes so here we are.

Rain had descended upon the Imperial palace. It was a rare phenomenon, one that only happened perhaps once or twice a year, and lasted for maybe a day or two at most before the scrubland of Devon returned to its more characteristic sweltering heat.

Even though it happened infrequently, Zarkon still _ loathed _ it. With the rain came frigid temperatures and a lack of direct sunlight. It had been perhaps twelve vargas, but he already longed to see the sun again, and he wanted to be able to walk around his own damn palace without being bundled up like a newborn cub. His birthmother, the Empress, had chided him—albeit teasingly—at breakfast for complaining about the sudden shift in weather, while his bloodmother had merely purred in amusement. Most of the palace staff—those that were native to the Devon province or other surrounding provinces—had been muttering their own complaints about the weather. Those who came form the southern provinces, however, were taking the weather as a welcome change, even if it was brief.

Just the previous night, Zarkon had caught Kolivan standing out on his balcony, watching the approaching storm with perked ears and a soft smile. Zarkon hadn’t wanted to tear them away. When they were both cubs, Kolivan had always been so excited about the one-to-two day long rain, going as far as to call it a blessing—something they stood by to this day. Zarkon had never really understood it until he had seen Kolivan during shedding season and realized Kolivan’s thick undercoat must have made the sweltering heat of Devon unbearable.

So, he was unsurprised when he woke up in the morning and Kolivan had already disappeared from his bed. He knew that they had to be careful, since their relationship was still a secret—and would likely remain so for the time being, due to Kolivan’s status as Zarkon’s bodyguard and the scandal that could result—but Zarkon still enjoyed cuddling before the rest of the palace had fully woken up for the day. The rain had already been heavy by then, so Zarkon had begrudgingly thrown on several layers from his closet and trekked outside of his room to search for them.

He had first checked their room, which was beside his, but the room had been empty. They had not been in the library or the banquet hall or down in the barracks… he had eventually sought out Kolivan’s birthparent, Kader, but they said that they hadn’t seen Kolivan since that morning. So, Zarkon trudged around, avoiding rain by walking under the verandas that surrounded the palace’s many courtyards. As he rounded a corner, he spotted the head of the Royal Guard, Aven, recognizing her based on her uniform, rather than her face.

“Aven!” he called, getting her attention.

She turned, and the multi-eyed mask that was covering her face disappeared in a blip. “Yes, Your Highness?” she asked, brows knitting together as she tilted her head to the side.

“Have you seen Kolivan?” Zarkon asked. “They disappeared on me. I can’t find them anywhere.”

Aven’s gaze softened, and she didn’t stop herself from letting out a chuckle. “They’re in the gardens, dear…” she said easily, ears shifting beneath her hood as she indicated in the direction of the gardens. “You might want to bring them inside—they’re far too happy out there.” Without another word, she turned and left, disappearing around the corner and heading back towards the banquet hall.

The gardens were on the other side of the palace, and the wind was beginning to pick up, causing a violent shiver to run up Zarkon’s spine. But, rather than complain, he sighed heavily, pulled his coat around himself more tightly, and trekked onward, making sure to stay beneath the verandas. As he walked, he glanced out into the rain. The courtyards he passed were beginning to flood a little bit, unsuited for having such heavy rainfall in such a short amount of time—this year’s rain must have been heavier than normal. Mud almost seemed to be replacing the dark purple grass.

As he neared the gardens, he heard laughter in the distance. Not Kolivan’s laughter—which Zarkon was familiar with—but rather, the laughter of cubs.

Kolivan stood just beyond the veranda that led out into the gardens, allowing the rain to fall on them. It saturated their fur, turning it a darker shade of bluish-purple and leaving dark trails in the mask of white that covered the lower half of their face. They were watching two cubs—who Zarkon immediately recognized as Antok and Thace—who were running around, chasing each other through the mud. The cubs were downright covered in the stuff. It had seeped in their soft fur, and the exposed pads of their feet as their toe-claws dug into the ground for traction. But they seemed to be having a good time, if their uproarious laughter was anything to go by. Both were young enough that this was likely only the second or third time they had seen rain in the palace.

As Zarkon approached, one of Kolivan’s fluffy ears twitched , sending a couple of droplets of water flying. They turned their head, glancing over their shoulder at him, and offering a soft smile in lieu of the most customary nuzzle upon seeing it was him. With their relationship still kept a secret, it paid to be discreet, especially in front of a pair of cubs who had an inclination for being blabbermouths—Antok more so than Thace.

“How nice of you to join us, Your Highness,” Kolivan said. “Antok, Thace! Won’t you say hello to the prince?”

Thace and Antok, covered from head to toe in mud, both shouted half-hearted greetings before they resumed their game. It appeared that Thace was chasing Antok around the gardens now, complaining about how hard he was to catch since Antok could run faster due to his longer gait. Zarkon said nothing in return, watching them for a moment and being reminded of how Kolivan used to complain about the same thing when they were younger…

Still did, actually, although the complaints nowadays were commonly disguised underneath dry quips.

“Aren’t you cold?” Zarkon asked, pulling his coat more tightly around himself and savoring the warmth it provided as another gust tore through the gardens, picking up the rain. Hastily, he took a step back from the edge of the veranda, not wanting to get a speck of water on him.

Kolivan didn’t have the same concerns. As the wind blew, they closed their eyes and gave a soft sigh of contentment. “It gets colder in Revali,” they said simply, referencing their home province, located far to the south. Zarkon had been their once, while on a diplomatic mission at the behest of his birthmother, and he remember that it had rained the throughout the two week visit, rarely ceasing. Although Kolivan had spent most of their cubhood in Devon, Zarkon supposed that summers spent in Revali still left them with a love of rain regardless.

“Are  _ you _ cold, Your Highness?” Kolivan asked, giving him a once over. Their ears twitched in amusement, and they were clearly trying to withhold a laugh.

Zarkon supposed he looked rather undignified, what with all the mismatched layers he had had to dig out of wardrobe in an attempt to try and conserve body heat… but at least he was  _ warm _ . He supposed he could’ve just stayed in his room all day, waited out the storm, read some books or those military reports his mothers had been nagging him about. But he had to find Kolivan since they had mysteriously disappeared. They would’ve eventually come back, he supposed, since it was in their job description to remain at his side…

Finding them completely at ease, smiling softly because it was raining and Kolivan  _ loved _ the rain… that made the cold a little more bearable.

“A little…” Zarkon finally admitted. “And before you ask, I’m not going out there.”

Kolivan huffed a laugh, clearly amused. “I wasn’t going to ask you to come out here,” they said, turning their gaze back to the cubs that were still running around in the mud. Upon confirming neither one had gotten into any sort of trouble, they sighed, leaning their head back and letting the rain wash over their fur. Zarkon could just barely hear the soft purr of contentment they let out over the light pitter-patter of rain hitting the roof of the veranda and the laughter of the nearby cubs.

“Stars forbid you get a little wet.”

Zarkon grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s  _ cold _ .”

Kolivan’s ears twitched in amusement. “Oh, I know, dearest…” they said. “I kind of figured when I was being used as space heater last night.”

At the endearment and comment, Zarkon felt his cheeks heat, and he quickly glanced at the cubs to make sure they weren’t paying attention. He was just in time to witness Thace tackling Antok to the nearest mud puddle. Zarkon cleared his throat awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“In my defense, you’re very warm,” Zarkon mumbled.

Kolivan hummed softly, but before they could respond, there was an abrupt roll of thunder in the distance. Zarkon jumped at the suddenness of it, eyes widening in surprise, but the cubs seemed absolutely terrified. They let out cries of fright and bolt across to the garden to where Kolivan was standing. There, they huddled beneath the knee-length skirt of the overtunic of Kolivan’s uniform, taking shelter from the rain. The hem of Kolivan’s tunic quickly became smeared with mud that had been clinging to the cub’s fur.

Kolivan glanced down at them, tilting their head to the side. “It’s only thunder, little ones,” Kolivan said easily, voice soft in an attempt to soothe the frightened cubs. “It’s not going to hurt you…” However, when another roll of thunder sounded, the cubs started crying, and Kolivan’s ears drooped. “Perhaps it might be time to go inside…”

Carefully, they led the two cubs back under the veranda, out of the rain—and Zarkon quickly hopped out of the way as they shook themself, causing water droplets to go flying out of their fur. When Zarkon shot them an annoyed look, Kolivan merely smiled in return. “I’ll take these two to their parents,” Kolivan said, already turning Thace and Antok in the direction of the barracks, where Antok’s mother would have been. “You go back to your room and stay there—I’ll be around soon.”

Zarkon returned to his room without argument, thankful to finally be out of the cold. There, he settled in front of the fire one of the servants must have started in the seldom used fireplace he had in his room. Huddling there, he waited for Kolivan to return. They did so within about fifteen doboshes, coming into the room already half-dry and in a change of clothes more suited for lounging around. However, a blade was still stashed at their hip.

“You wasted no time bundling up,” they noted as they walked over to the bed, gathering up the blanket that was laid out on the end. “How are you feeling?”

As if to answer the question Zarkon let out a loud sneeze.

Kolivan snorted, approaching him. Gently, they reached out, turning his head this way and that, as if checking his symptoms. “Honestly, you get sick during rain quicker than a newborn cub.”

“I sneezed once,” he grumbled.

“That’s how it starts,” Kolivan retorted, wrapping the blanket snuggly around him. “Just stay in front of the fire… I’ll call for one of your servants to fetch some tea.”

“And then are you going to stay?” Zarkon asked, watching as they stood and moved over to the datapad that sat on his nightstand. No sooner had he gotten the question out did he sneeze again—louder and more violently this time. Groaning, he could feel his throat starting to burn.

Kolivan hummed softly at the question, setting the datapad to the side. Then, they crossed the room, plopping down beside him in front of the fire, and ducking beneath Zarkon’s arm when he raised it. Thunder continued rolling in the distance, and it seemed the rain had picked up again, but Zarkon finally felt warm and snuggled in, burying his face in Kolivan’s shoulder. 

“Your Highness, as your bodyguard, I fear it will take more than a couple of sneezes to get rid of me,” Kolivan said simply.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


End file.
